"Not a standard RPG....unfortunately not standard fun (No Spoilers)"

I am sad to say that this game honestly deserves a 1. This is not because absolutely everything about this game is terrible, but because this game is nothing like it's advertised for and the terrible ease and speed at which this game can be completed. Be warned this is a SHORT game and can be completed in less than 8 hours, and fully completed in less than 12 hours. FOR AN AT GLANCE REVIEW PLEASE SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS REVIEW.

Here is what you may think this game has to offer:
-Multiple branching paths of playing the game good, bad, or neutral
-Customizable character classes
-Non-linear story line
-Alignment affects NPC reactions and events
-Many side quests
-Multiple layers of difficulty
-Customize your look
-You can marry someone (and sleep with them)
-4 different endings
-You can buy a house

Here's what it actually offers:
-Forcing you to follow a sequence of quests allowing you to choose between 2 quests when you are offered only 3 times out of the normal 1 option you are "given" most of the game (aka this is the branched paths the game offers)

-Choose a wizard, fighter or archer and use magic, a sword or a bow the whole game.
-A linear story line.

-Alignment changes how you look, but all that it actually does to affect game play is that people will clap for you if you're good, and run from you if your bad, the game plays out the same way anyways.

-You have to do the same quests every time and only have one option for each questing opportunity save 3 times you get to choose between 2 quests which are basically the same anyways (i.e. help a wagon escape from bandits or help the bandits get the wagon).
-Only one difficulty, easy.

-Customize your look....yes! They actually let you do that
-You can marry someone (guy or girl) and sleep with them, but it accomplishes nothing (well it gets you 1000$) and is not very fun.

-4 different endings that are each a good 30 seconds long each.

-You can buy a house. Yup that's it though. The only thing you can do is put your trophies and spouse in it. You can't store items or do anything else cool (like drag people there and leave them in your dungeon mwaahahahah….not that you would want to though….). Also if you just run into a house and kill everyone inside, you can buy the place a little while later because no one lives there anymore (I wonder why). That is what I find totally ridiculous (even for a videogame) because you can go on a rampage and the guards will forget all your misdeeds in less than few minutes after you leave town.

Major flaws you should know about:
-If you try to play the game as a bad side player prepare to beat up people a lot as killing bad guys (and you HAVE to) makes you shift to the light side.

-If you go on a rampage and have all the guards after you they will leave you alone if you leave town for like 5 minutes (10 minutes on a real bloody rampage).

-The only choices you have (when you actually get them) are A) or B) options.

-Anyone you marry will be the same generic stuff except one person.

-There are maybe 4 "worth while" side quests.

-2 of the 4 endings have to do with a last second choice (A or B of course) as you beat the game, so there's really only 2 ending paths, and that solely depends on your alignment, meaning you can play good the whole game and at the last minute beat up a whole bunch of people and become evil to see the bad ending.

I (like many others) was expecting far more than what this game delivered. The game itself is not even a decent average RPG.
-Aging. Yes sir you will age (as you “level up” by spending points on your 3 stats) but no one else will. That means by the end of the game you will look like you're 65 and a key character (someone you meet early in the game) won't age one bit.

Here is what makes this a different than normal/standard RPG (and makes it more like an Action game):
IMPORTANT: I consider a normal RPG a game where you fight random enemies, get experience and level up (gaining attributes and skills in the process)

-The level up system is based on spending points into attack, health or magic. You get points by killing bad guys and a little alert will tell you that you have enough points to upgrade your level in whichever area you choose. The catch is you have to go back to your base to do it.

-The enemies are spawned each time you go to a new screen, and there is a set amount that run around (i.e. you can't just walk around in the same place and expect to run into a random battle).

-The story advancement involves you continually reporting back to home base and picking “quest cards”. You then go out and have the option to boast and make more money. You boast by going out on a platform and saying (selecting) that you can complete the quest by say taking no damage or wearing nothing. Obviously it's harder not to take damage than to win with no armor so the rewards are greater for harder boasts. Keep in mind though, if you boast something and fail to do so, you will LOSE money, so be careful (trying to do all the boasts at once is what can POSSIBLY make this game somewhat hard).

-You don't get any party members. This is what all other rpg's offer (unless they are action games). So expect to be flying solo (unless you're on body guarding duties).

Who should get it?
If you are someone who is not a RPG fan but likes action games you might like this one as it plays more like an action fighter than a true RPG. You also must like games you can beat easily and quickly. The most similar kind of game I can think of is Zelda games, as you level up by getting hearts and such and running around by yourself trying

Who shouldn't you get it?
Anyone who was expecting a very in-depth rpg. The story line of this game is not very good and the main bad guy is arbitrarily revealed 3/4 of the way through the game (aka about 6 hours in) and there's no reason for him to be the main bad guy but he is. There is also not much depth into fighting. It's also important to know that almost every where you go requires ample loading time going over and over the same places and having it load slowly each time. If you were trying to complete an average quest (in terms of what I found average distance) you would have to go back forth through about 10-15 small areas (each area is about a 10-20 second sprint from one end to the other) and see a 10 second load sequence each time.

BREAKDOWN AT A GLANCE:

Story: 1
This is the worst story I have personally ever come across (as such it gets a 1). The plot would be cliché if it weren't for the fact that there is no actually coherent plot to begin with. Random beginnings with an arbitrary ending are what this game has to serve up. An rpg is supposed to create a plot to support why you fight (at least that's what all other good rpg's do). This one gives you a blunt emotionless scenario and throws you in to just doing pointless deeds until you just bump into the big bad guy who's evil plot couldn't pass for a children's picture book. I also don't like how you are just cast into the role of a “hero” for no reason other than it suits the game action for you to be a hero. Another thing that bugged me was the lack of character development between the main character and the NPC's. Some pretty major stuff happens (in terms of events, like someone getting killed in front of your eyes for instance) and they don't seem to care that much. Also they don't seem to care about each other very much, and a lot of the dialogue is rushed without any real emotion thrown in.

Graphics: 8
They are actually pretty good most of the game. Although some of the scenery could have been better. Your character is where the most detail went in this game. You can customize your whole body with a plethora of tattoos (bought from a tattooist) and the amour types really add a nice touch to distinguishing your character type. Also when you are turning good you will see a halo over your character and he will take on more of a glow to his look. If you are turning to the bad side, he will have horns sprout out and turn reddish.

Game play: 3
It's a simple hack and slashes game, but it can be a little fun for a little while. You basically run from screen to screen taking out bad guys with a blade, bow or blast of lightning (aka magic). You take quests from the guild or random village folk which are as generic as they get (take me to so and so, save what's her name, or my personal favorite, the great fed-ex quest, where you must take a special item to a special place….I'm sure we have all been there and done that). My biggest gripe is that the game play and story don't mix in a happy way which sucks because there are some aspects that are really cool about this game that could have worked really well with a good supporting cast.

Sound: 6
The voices are crisp but sometimes cut off too soon, and the people clapping and shouting you name (especially if you have a title which you can buy, for example chicken chaser) gets annoying. The music is ok, but of course it gets repetitive so after a while you will get sick of it.

Replay ability: 1
You can do it all in one play through in less than 10 hours and you probably won't want to go through it again. Also the utter ease at which you should be able to fly through this game will also deter you from trying it again.

All in all I think you should rent it first no matter what you like in a game or expect in this one. This game could have been way better if it delivered what it said it did. If you have to get this game, get it for the PC as you can at least download new content.

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 08/12/05